VIN 11777 Middle Eastern Car - Carl's Car

Subsection of cars originally sent out to the Middle East

VIN 11777 Middle Eastern Car - Carl's Car

Postby arranj » Tue Aug 18, 2009 4:15 pm

Having seen Carl's car at the weekend, it has inspired Alistair to do some research on this car, which he will post shortly. Over the weekend though Al asked me to photograph some of the differences between this and a "normal" Middle Eastern car.



Funny aerial?:

Image


Grooved hood:

Image


No toolbox compartment:

Image


Silver wheels:

Image


Mysterious "plain" back glass (non-tinted or heated):

Image


Standard instrument cluster/speedo:

Image


Painted back bits:

Image


Rear bezel:

Image


Pull straps:

Image


"Scrap" written on the door in plain view!?!:

Image


Frame number removed:

Image


Green sticker in the hood:

Image



Over to you Al! ;)
Arran | DCUK 004 | VIN #1764 | Official DeLorean Club World Headquarters, Norfolk, UK

Das Webmeister
DeLorean Club

Image
User avatar
arranj
 
Posts: 7651
Joined: Fri May 29, 2009 6:19 pm
Location: DeLorean Club World Headquarters, Norfolk, UK
VIN #: 1764
Spaxed

Re: VIN 11777 Middle Eastern Car - Carl's Car

Postby carl hammond » Wed Aug 19, 2009 4:13 pm

So, anyway... I bought a car, turned out to be from Dubai.... who knew!

THE END
Carlos
#VIN11777 - Middle East. ;)

Dubai Rep
DeLorean Club

DeLorean Club - "Friends with benefits"
User avatar
carl hammond
 
Posts: 914
Joined: Mon Jun 08, 2009 7:05 pm
Location: Norfolk, UK
VIN #: 11777
Spaxed

Re: VIN 11777 Middle Eastern Car - Carl's Car

Postby arranj » Wed Aug 19, 2009 4:15 pm

lol! - Can you maybe split that into 4 for the club "e-mag" Carl?! :D
Arran | DCUK 004 | VIN #1764 | Official DeLorean Club World Headquarters, Norfolk, UK

Das Webmeister
DeLorean Club

Image
User avatar
arranj
 
Posts: 7651
Joined: Fri May 29, 2009 6:19 pm
Location: DeLorean Club World Headquarters, Norfolk, UK
VIN #: 1764
Spaxed

Re: VIN 11777 Middle Eastern Car - Carl's Car

Postby dmcjohn » Fri Aug 21, 2009 1:46 pm

arranj wrote:Having seen Carl's car at the weekend, it has inspired Alistair to do some research on this car, which he will post shortly. Over the weekend though Al asked me to photograph some of the differences between this and a "normal" Middle Eastern car.

[b][size=150]

Funny aerial?:

Image


I have the same aerial on my car, or at least a very similar one! (vin 3810, sept '81).

Image

I'll try to get a better pic.

John
User avatar
dmcjohn
 
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Jun 08, 2009 2:34 pm
Location: Wicklow, Ireland.
VIN #: 2449, 3659, 3810

Re: VIN 11777 Middle Eastern Car - Carl's Car

Postby A Van » Sat Aug 22, 2009 10:05 pm

I was always convinced that Carls car was a Middle Eastern car, however several people disagreed with me!!!...it displays some of the hallmarks of a ME car, but also major differences.

Since the gathering at Pete's, Carl gave me the task to 'prove it'.

Well on this occasion I am pleased to report........I did!

Information has now come to light which proves this car was a ME car, but also explains the reason why it has some different parts, its quite a story and I have no doubt over the next couple of weeks Carl will be doing a write complete with pictures.
Alistair V

Vin 11753 - B/Auto - Kuwait, painted black
Ex Vin 11766 - B/Auto - Dubai
Ex 11622, 6064

RIP Mike 'Bozzy' Bosworth 19/04/1969 - 31/12/2015


Official Spokesperson and Media Liaison Officer, and off road Buggy flipper
DeLorean Club

The Future's Bright....
The Future's
DeLorean Club
User avatar
A Van
 
Posts: 7813
Joined: Fri May 29, 2009 6:33 pm
VIN #: 11753
Spaxed

Re: VIN 11777 Middle Eastern Car - Carl's Car

Postby Peter Filsell » Sun Aug 30, 2009 9:50 am

Can't wait to hear about this, well done Al!

Come on Carl, pull ya finger out!!!! :D
Peter Filsell
FIL675
Vin #1772

DeLorean Club

The Future's Bright....
The Future's
DeLorean Club

...I've been Imageed by DCUK...
User avatar
Peter Filsell
 
Posts: 103
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2009 6:49 pm
Location: Nr Norwich, Norfolk
VIN #: 1772
Spaxed

Re: VIN 11777 Middle Eastern Car - Carl's Car

Postby A Van » Sun Aug 30, 2009 9:53 am

Ah!

Well I know Carl is still waiting for the final items to arrive, but they are on the way!

Al
Alistair V

Vin 11753 - B/Auto - Kuwait, painted black
Ex Vin 11766 - B/Auto - Dubai
Ex 11622, 6064

RIP Mike 'Bozzy' Bosworth 19/04/1969 - 31/12/2015


Official Spokesperson and Media Liaison Officer, and off road Buggy flipper
DeLorean Club

The Future's Bright....
The Future's
DeLorean Club
User avatar
A Van
 
Posts: 7813
Joined: Fri May 29, 2009 6:33 pm
VIN #: 11753
Spaxed

Re: VIN 11777 Middle Eastern Car - Carl's Car

Postby carl hammond » Sun Sep 27, 2009 12:28 am

Well, I always knew there was something slightly unusual about my car, but nothing could have prepared me for what I eventually discovered! :shock:

There have been a number of theories as to the origins of this car. However, after a great deal of research by myself and Alistair, I can finally reveal the truth behind the enigma that is VIN 11777 - the DeLorean that has more to it than at first meets the eye...

VIN 11777 - Middle Eastern Car
Jan 82 - Black Automatic

Purchased in June 2007 from Blackburn, Lancs from Nick Birch.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image


Of course I had absolutely no idea when I bought it that this was one of the 50 Middle Eastern cars, despite the VIN no suggesting this all along! The reason being (as you can see from the pics), upon first glance the car would appear to be an 81 model with the early features including: grooved hood, doors - with the early pull straps and silver wheels! This was all very baffling and I was determined to get to the bottom of it, starting firstly by locating the first owner! :?

Well my first port of call was to obtain a record of the previous keepers from the DVLA, this revealed the name of the first owner - a Mr Tim Carpenter. Initial attempts to trace his whereabouts proved fruitless. However, after some brilliant detective work by Alistair, we had a lead and it wasn't long before we were given a contact and tracked him down. As you might expect, Tim was surprised to hear from us but delighted to see the photos of the car 24 years on from when he last saw it! He then proceeded to tell us how he came to acquire the car and confirmed our theory that the car was one of the Middle Eastern VIN's. It turns out that Tim worked out in The Middle East in the 80's and whilst over there purchased the car secondhand from a Dubai dealership from a Mohammed Saleh on 5th December 1983. There is no information to suggest that Mr Saleh was the car's first owner. However, at the time of Tim purchasing it, there was already 24538 miles on the clock! :shock:

and here she is! 8-)


Image

Image

Image

Image


Tim told us how he ran the car in Dubai until June 1984 when he quit his job there and moved back to the UK. He air-shipped the car back from Dubai over to Luxembourg (cheapest service). Tim then picked up the car in Luxembourg and drove it all the way back to the UK. For a few months he ran the car on its Dubai plates until "officially" importing in December 1984. He then registered it on 1st January, 1985. Tim informed us that at the time, registrations were allocated based on first registration rather than year of manufacture, hence the reason for the 'Y'-reg.

In June, 1985, Tim drove the car down to the South of France on holiday, little knowing that he would not be driving her back and that the car would never be the same again...


Image

Image


Although the pictures look may look nasty, Tim said the incident was merely a glancing impact with the bank at the edge of the road, which subsequently rolled it over back and into the road! There was not particulary huge frontal damage, but it would require extensive body remodelling and not unsurprisingly, his insurers immediateldy declared the car a write off. The last details Tim heard, were that it had been transported back to the UK and left to rot in a scrap yard in Kent... Incidentally, the mileage at the time of disposal was 35284.

I am still piecing together information of the cars movements since Tim's ownership, although it does appear that it has remained in the UK ever since. However, so far I have discovered the following:

At some point between 1985-1994 the car was transferred from the scrap yard in Kent to a company called ‘Mcfall Salvage’ in Merseyside. It is to my understanding that the owner of this company a Mr Brian Mcfall had taken the car on as his personal project and it seems more than likely now that Mr Mcfall would have been responsible for all of the restoration work carried out on the car. The reason why is still unknown, the car may have been a company project that once restored, would have eventually been sold at auction, as this I understand was the companies main trade. Or it could have possibly been Mr Mcfall's own personal project to restore and maybe one day use himself? Unfortunately, I may never discover the real reason behind the project, as sadly I learnt that Mr Mcfall passed away sometime in 2007.

Therefore, this still leaves the one big question; How did Mr Mcfall obtain the replacement parts to restore the car? As you can see by the photos that Arran has taken, there are a number of irregularities with the car that just don't add up if this was a standard Jan 82 model? In fact, upon first glance, any DeLorean enthusiast would be forgiven for thinking this car is an early 81 model as it bares a most of the characteristics. However, we now know that this is not the case and so the question of the spare parts remains...

Well, that is until now...

In 1994, a Mr Michael Hollington purchased the car from Mcfall Salvage after a friend had made the discovery. Michael happens to be the owner of the UK's largest indoor Go-Karting arena in Warrington and was keen to buy the car for the purpose of displaying in the entrance of his Karting centre:


Image


Hey, doesn't that man look strangely familiar?... :? ;)


Image


Michael told me he had no intentions of putting the car on the road as not only was it a non-runner at the time, but it still required a great deal of additional work. Therefore, the car would continue to solely remain a visitor attraction for the next 8 years until he would eventually sell to Nick Birch (the car's previous owner to me) in 2002. It was only until very recently when I spoke to Michael again that he suddenly recalled another very significant detail about the car, or should I say a part of it... ;)

It turns out that when Michael bought the car from Mcfall's, included in the sale was a shed load of spare parts including of all things a rolling chassis - complete with an engine! I strongley believe this to be the original frame, wheels and engine from VIN 11777. Michael only backed up this theory by recalling there being significant visible damage to the front end of the frame (most likely a result of the accident in 1985?) This may also expalin why the frame number on the car appears to have been deliberately removed by somebody, as this almost certainly would have revealed the original VIN. All of this evidence strongly supports the theory that Mcfall’s somehow acquired another car and a much earlier VIN at that (I have been told around the 600’s but it maybe even earlier) and that this car was used as a "donor" to rebuild VIN 11777? :?

The car as it stands today has clearly been constructed mostly from the remnants of this other mystery VIN as most of the parts from VIN 11777 would have been too badly damaged to salvage. In fact, I believe the only original parts still visible now are; the fibreglass underbody (which despite being repaired, still shows signs of front end damage), the carpets and dash (which surprisingly, shows no sign of damage) and perhaps some of the rear elements of the car which may have remained undamaged from the impact. Other than those parts, it appears everything else was replaced in order to restore and represent a stock DeLorean DMC-12.

However, there still remains a number of questions:

What was the VIN no of this other car, how did it end up in the scrap yard as a donor car and why could it not be restored too?

How did the salvage company acquire the unusual rear screen, did it come from the other car? Did the company get a new screen produced, this would seem unlikely as I understand it would have been very expensive.

The car still has an airiel in the hood, but we already know that the "other car" was an earlier model (possibly with the aireil in the windscreen?) The original wing was badly damaged in the impact, so how did they obtain a new one or restore the original?

Of course some of these theories are based purely on assumption only and sadly the truth behind the "rebirth" of my car may never be revealed... Although one thing is for certain, it has been a fascinating history lesson! 8-)

Finally, I would just like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone (too many to mention by name) for all of their fantastic help, support and advice in helping me to get VIN 11777 back and maintained on the road. I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciate this and quite simply could not have done it without you guys! :D

In addition, a special thank you goes out to Chris and Darren of PJ Grady, who have no doubt been through a lot of blood, sweat and tears striving to restore my car back to her former glory! What you guys have managed to achieve is immense and it is mostly down to you guys that the car was finally able to take to the road again for the first time in 22 years! I can't thank you enough for all of your hard work and dedication towards the DeLorean cause! :D

Well everyone, it has been a rollercoaster 2 and a bit years of DeLorean ownership and long may it continue, because I honestly wouldn't change it for the world!! 8-)

Image

Image

Image

Image


All the best

Carl

Carl Hammond
VIN 11777 - Middle Eastern Car
Carlos
#VIN11777 - Middle East. ;)

Dubai Rep
DeLorean Club

DeLorean Club - "Friends with benefits"
User avatar
carl hammond
 
Posts: 914
Joined: Mon Jun 08, 2009 7:05 pm
Location: Norfolk, UK
VIN #: 11777
Spaxed

Re: VIN 11777 Middle Eastern Car - Carl's Car

Postby bozzzydmc » Sun Sep 27, 2009 8:49 am

Carl

Hats off to you ...that was the most interesting article I have read in a long long time !

Well done !

Mike
Bozzzy | DCUK 003 | Yorkshire, UK

DeLorean Club
bozzzydmc
 
Posts: 4402
Joined: Fri May 29, 2009 8:30 am

Re: VIN 11777 Middle Eastern Car - Carl's Car

Postby tourettes tony » Sun Sep 27, 2009 9:18 am

Yeah i quite enjoyed reading all that, nice one carl TT
vin# freedom :)
X factor winner 2009
Yorkshire squirt winner 2009
Officially no more engine rebuilds well maybe 2 more :)


If you need any Tech help, don't ask
Club Cultural Ambassador and Official Tourettes Tutor
DeLorean Club

The Future's Bright....
The Future's
DeLorean Club
User avatar
tourettes tony
 
Posts: 3948
Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2009 4:47 pm
Location: to the right of london, near mr monk
VIN #: 30035

Next

Return to Middle Eastern Cars

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests

About us

The DeLorean Club UK forum for European DeLorean owners and enthusiasts. The largest DeLorean forum in Europe.

Registration is FREE and all registered users get full access